This invention generally relates to extrusion devices for mounting wall panels, and more particularly, to extrusions having features for facilitating panel mounting and removal, forming useful types of joints from a standard set of parts, and improving the sealing, weathering, and durability of wall panel installations.
Wall panels are widely used to create a finished, durable, and aesthetic appearance on building walls of all types, as well as for panels for truck bodies, shipping containers, and the like. The panels are typically formed as laminates of outer surface sheets bonded to inner core layer or layers that have structural strength and rigidity, yet are light-weight, flexible under building and environmental stresses, and attractive for the external or interior appearance of building walls. The panels are mounted to building walls by various types of mounting devices. For example, one-piece channel-shaped extrusions of metal or rigid plastic are widely used to retain the panels at joints, corners, and boundary terr (breaks). With conventional extrusion designs, installation proceeds progressively by first installing a corner or terminal extrusion, then a panel, then an xe2x80x9cHxe2x80x9d (straight, two-sided) extrusion, then another panel, and so on until another corner of termination is reached. Installers must be able to size the panels, position the mounting extrusions, and form joints that are properly aligned and cleanly formed.
However, conventional extrusion devices have been rather inconvenient to use and expensive. With one-piece extrusions, installation proceeds in one direction along a building wall, and caulking the gaps between the panel edges and the extrusions must be done at the time of installation. If the panels are misaligned or a panel becomes damaged, the panels must be removed in sequence in the backward direction. An individual panel cannot be removed out of sequence. The already-installed caulking must be removed or it will detract from the clean appearance of the panels. With one-piece extrusions, the panel fitting and caulking must be done correctly the first time of installation. Installers may be tempted to leave out the caulking to facilitate panel repair or removal, but this can lead to panel and building failure due to water seepage through the gaps and into the building walls.
Conventional one-piece extrusions are frequently attached to furring, framing, or sheathing members on building walls by screw fasteners inserted or drilled through a rear portion of the extrusion. If they are not properly countersunk, the heads of the screw fasteners can project above the plane of the extrusion channel and get in the way of insertion of the edge of the panel therein. The conventional extrusions are also pre-formed to accommodate a single thickness of wall panel, and therefore the number of extrusion parts that must be stocked is multiplied for handling several wall panel thicknesses. Conventional extrusions are also formed in a fixed set of shapes, such as xe2x80x9cJxe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9cHxe2x80x9d, and xe2x80x9cZxe2x80x9d shapes, for mounting panel ends, straight joints, or corners, respectively. However, these extrusion parts cannot be used to make a clean, rigid fascia/soffit transition or non-standard angle or corner.
In accordance with the present invention, an extrusion device for mounting a wall panel to an underlying wall structure comprises: an outer cap provided with an outer surface extending to an edge on at least one lateral side thereof adapted to be positioned against an outer surface of a wall panel, said outer cap having a pair of spaced-apart insertion fingers projecting perpendicularly downward from an inner surface of said cap, and an inner receiver base having a planar mounting portion for mounting to an underlying wall surface and for receiving an end of a wall panel to be mounted thereon, said receiver base having a pair of angled receiver flanges spaced apart by a given width and projecting upwardly from an inner surface facing toward said cap, so as to receive the insertion fingers of said cap therein when said cap is positioned and inserted onto said base.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, referred to as a two-piece xe2x80x9cJxe2x80x9d type extrusion, the receiver base and cap have mounting and panel holding portions on both sides of a central portion where the insertion fingers and receiver flanges are engaged. The receiver base and flanges are made of plastic and configured to yield under the force of inserting the insertion fingers. The outer cap and insertion fingers are made of metal so as to match the typical metal face sheets of wall panels. The tips of the insertion fingers are beveled at a slight angle xcex1, preferably from 7xc2x0 to 14xc2x0, to allow easy insertion of the fingers into the receiver flanges. The receiver flanges are formed with beveled outer contact surfaces inclined toward tip ends facing a center cavity into which the insertion fingers are inserted, in order to center and guide their gradual insertion therein.
Other features of the invention include the cap having compound water-shedding edges with a rounded rain-drip edge spaced in close proximity to a sharply inclined knife edge. The knife edge scrapes water running downwardly onto the cap away from the panel surface, and the rain-drip edge at a lower side of the cap forms a meniscus and drip line away from the panel surface. The insertion fingers have a thickness that increases slightly with insertion for gradual spreading of the receiver flanges, thereby causing the grip strength of the receiver flanges to increase as the insertion fingers move progressively farther into the receiver flanges. The insertion fingers have on their outer surfaces a plurality of detent positions for engagement of the receiver flange tips therein, in order to accommodate differing panel thicknesses.
Another variation of an extrusion device, referred to as a contrast-cover two-piece xe2x80x9cHxe2x80x9d type extrusion, has a similar receiver base, an insert cap provided at its inner facing side with an insertion plug which is inserted between the receiver flanges, and a cover cap which snaps into a cavity formed on a front facing side of the insertion plug.
Another extrusion variation, referred to as a two-piece xe2x80x9cJxe2x80x9d type, has a receiver base with similar receiver flanges and a wall mounting and panel holding portion on only one lateral side thereof. A similarly one-sided cap has similar insertion fingers and an overlying portion on only one side thereof, said cap being provided on side thereof with a terminal flange that is offset by a slight distance from the receiver flange of the base.
In another aspect of the invention, a one-piece extrusion has a rear base portion of extended width for mounting to an underlying wall structure and holding the edge of a wall panel thereon, a front cover portion having a given width and being spaced from the base portion so as to form a pocket therewith, and a ramp formed on a front facing surface of the base portion within the width of said front cover portion, such that the ramp acts to gradually force the edge of a wall panel inserted in the pocket toward the front cover portion of the extrusion clear of the heads of screws used to mount the base portion to the underlying wall structure.
A further improvement available for panels with varying thickness is the double ramp design. Particulary suited to water insensitive panels. The first ramp pushes the panel towards the front for the screw head clearance, the second ramp allows panels from 0.385 to 0.281 thick to be pushed towards the front of a snug fit desirable for a clean appearance. In addition the second ramp provides for a xe2x80x9cweepxe2x80x9d space at the bottom to drain moisture leakage in so called Weep and Drains Systems.
In a preferred embodiment, the pocket depth (front cover width) is about 0.50 inch, and the ramp is located about midway in the pocket depth at about 0.25 inch. The extra pocket depth and ramp can give the installer the option to install a thicker panel within the pocket but short of the ramp. Providing the base portion with a long back leg allows the extrusion to deform Slightly so that the thicker panels will fit even if the fastener heads are not countersunk.
Another variation referred to as a one-piece xe2x80x9cJxe2x80x9d type extrusion similarly has a base portion which extends on only one side, a front cover portion on the one side, and a ramp having the panel-holding, screw-clearing function as described above. This xe2x80x9cJxe2x80x9d type extrusion is used to terminate the edge of a wall panel. A variation of the one-piece xe2x80x9cJxe2x80x9d type extrusion has an extension from the edge of the pocket that can be used to form a beveled inside corner or a horizontal flashing at the end of a wall or down to the ground level.
A further variation is a xe2x80x9cZxe2x80x9d type extrusion which has a connector section with a hook end, a right angle intermediate section, and a straight section extending in parallel with the connector section. The hook end is designed to interconnect with the hook indentation of the ramp of a one-piece extrusion, such as the xe2x80x9cHxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9cJxe2x80x9d type extrusion described above, in order to form a right angle connection thereto. A one-piece xe2x80x9cCxe2x80x9d type extrusion has two halves that form pockets for wall panels on each side of a right angle inside or outside corner. A straight xe2x80x9creveal-Hxe2x80x9d type extrusion can also be bent as to form an inside or outside corner over a wide range of angles. The described types of extrusions can be combined together to deal with many different kinds of panel edge situations of a building, such as combining two xe2x80x9cJxe2x80x9d extrusions to form an outside corner, or xe2x80x9cJxe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9cZxe2x80x9d extrusions to form a fascia and soffit.